Gimbal Issue?

[cdouble]

a couple weeks ago when flying in some fairly windy conditions (10mph win with gusts to 20+) I received Gimbal Overload error. I stopped the flight and figured the gimbal was just unable to keep up with the demands and would be fine next time. The last two times I flew (winds 5-7mph) I noticed that the gimbal seems to move slowly the first time I toggle it to look straight down (I have the RC function key programmed to toggle Gimbal from horizontal to vertical). When I toggle it to vertical, it moves normally about halfway through it's range then slowly for the remainder of the switch. From that point forward for that flight, it moves quickly from horizontal to vertical and back. So I figured it is just a matter of "limbering up."

Now today I started playing with logfiles and the phantomhelp website. I exported the log into the Verbose CSV formal and loaded into Excel, and noted that the GIMBAL.isStuck property had values of TRUE and FALSE during that flight which piqued my curiosity. . I did receive a Gimbal Overload error toward end of that flight. Is this slow movement the first time it is cycled normal behavior? What about the info from the logfile?

I'm in Pennsylvania so flying this time of year the temperatures range from mid-20s to low-40s. Is this just to be expected in cooler temperatures, or is there something likely wrong with my Spark? Anything else I shoudl check or can do to diagnose this Attached is logfile..

 

[pmshop]

Basically what happened is you got hit by a gust as you indi.
The gimbal tries to stay level but the body of the Spark pushed on it with a gust.
That caused the overload.
If by chance you were using a clip-on filter, that would make it even more susceptible to overload.

By the way, do you have the correct logfile uploaded here?
I cannot find that gimbal overload message.
Plus, the artificial horizon in Phantom Help Log Viewer is relatively calm.

 

[Chrislaf]

In cold temps I often have problems with the pitch control on my Spark. It is either sluggish, gets stuck or doesn’t move the whole range. Today I was flying in -21C with some wind. The gimbal had lots of trouble pitching and attempts to do some panos that required the gimbal to pitch down, failed. In the summer months or in my house (not flying) the gimbal works perfectly so the problems you are having are likely due to cold weather. Even in relatively warm winter temps like -5C my gimbal will initially have some problems pitching down.

I think the Spark gimbal is more sensitive to colder weather than the Phantom line. I have never had problems with my Phantom 3 Standard and it has been flown down to -23C.

Hope this helps.
Chris

 

[Andre Levite]

In cold temps I often have problems with the pitch control on my Spark. It is either sluggish, gets stuck or doesn’t move the whole range. Today I was flying in -21C with some wind. The gimbal had lots of trouble pitching and attempts to do some panos that required the gimbal to pitch down, failed. In the summer months or in my house (not flying) the gimbal works perfectly so the problems you are having are likely due to cold weather. Even in relatively warm winter temps like -5C my gimbal will initially have some problems pitching down.

I think the Spark gimbal is more sensitive to colder weather than the Phantom line. I have never had problems with my Phantom 3 Standard and it has been flown down to -23C.

Hope this helps.
Chris

I feel funny pointing this out because it's so obvious but...

your temperature range of -5 to -21C is well below the DJI recommended guidelines for proper performance (below). A perfectly good gimbal would be expected malfunction in that environment. I wouldn't consider that a hardware malfunction.

 

[Chrislaf]

I feel funny pointing this out because it's so obvious but...

your temperature range of -5 to -21C is well below the DJI recommended guidelines for proper performance (below). A perfectly good gimbal would be expected malfunction in that environment. I wouldn't consider that a hardware malfunction.

View attachment 8545

I realize I am well outside of the Spark guidelines and never thought of it as a hardware malfunction, because as I said above the gimbal returns to normal function when it is back in a warm environment.

Where I live, it is not unusual to see temperatures this low at this time of year. I could pack up my Spark and put it away until March or April when temps start to get back up above 0C, but then I would miss some of the best opportunities to get unique shots.

Chris